Jin Joong-kwon, Hong Se-hwa, Choi Jang-jip... Their Criticism of Moon: 'Damage to Democracy' [Han Seung-gon's Political Notebook]

Jin Joong-kwon, Hong Se-hwa, and Other Progressives Criticize Moon Again This Year Following Last Year

President Moon Jae-in is delivering a New Year's address at the Blue House on the 11th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] Criticism from progressive commentators, including former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon, who directly criticized President Moon Jae-in, continues this year following last year. While the content of the criticism varies, the core argument is that the Democratic Party of Korea and the Moon Jae-in administration are undermining democracy.

They pointed out that President Moon is effectively obscured by a 'curtain of people' and thus fails to properly see the suffering of ordinary citizens struggling with COVID-19 and other issues.

There were also criticisms labeling President Moon as an authoritarian ruler, and speculation arose that the recent political and social controversy over pardons for former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye might have originated from President Moon himself.

Further criticism followed, accusing Democratic Party figures of regressing the democracy they had painstakingly built. All these criticisms aimed at President Moon last year collectively conclude that he is ultimately damaging democracy.

Former Jinbo Shindang Representative Hong Se-hwa. He has recently voiced criticism not only toward President Moon but also the Moon Jae-in administration. He pointed out that the president is unable to properly attend to the people's livelihood due to being surrounded by close aides and criticized the Moon Jae-in administration for undermining democracy.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Hong Se-hwa: "Why President Moon Became President, Why He Came to Power..."

Progressive veteran journalist and former Progressive Party leader Hong Se-hwa strongly criticized President Moon’s governance philosophy in an interview with Sisa Journal on the 11th.

He said, "It seems unlikely that President Moon will return as a president rather than a king during the remainder of his term," adding, "He gave us hope for relief by promising to eradicate weeds, meaning deep-rooted evils. But in reality, he has not touched the overgrown weeds right in his own backyard."

He continued, "It makes one question why President Moon became president and why he came to power," and criticized, "What is the current situation? Real estate, COVID-19, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act ? disasters are causing immense pain starting from the weakest links, yet the ruling party leader’s only topic is a pardon."

He then asked rhetorically, "How deeply immersed in political engineering is he?" and added, "It was not the right time to bring up pardons when former President Park Geun-hye’s trials were not even finished. Whether the president was consulted or not is unknown and irrelevant."

Choi Jang-jip, Honorary Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University
[Photo by Yonhap News]

◆ Choi Jang-jip: "Pardon Theory Likely Initiated by Moon... Probably Tested Public Opinion Through Lee Nak-yeon"

Meanwhile, progressive political scientist and emeritus professor of political science and diplomacy at Korea University, Choi Jang-jip, pointed out in an interview with the same media on the 5th that "It is highly likely that President Moon floated a trial balloon regarding the pardon issue" in relation to Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon’s remarks on pardoning former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.

Professor Choi said, "President Moon brought up the pardon issue, and Lee expressed his opinion to gauge public reaction," adding, "While the candlelight protests led to impeachment of former President Park, judicial punishment was too much. Political considerations are important regarding acts of governance while in office."

He criticized, "All decisions are made relying on opinion groups called public opinion, which leads to a precondition where the rule of law is impossible." He added, "There was no inter-party consultation, opposition was treated as hostility, and governance was conducted this way, causing severe polarization."

Professor Choi also said, "They interpreted and monopolized the candlelight protests as they wished and operated the state with a nationalist approach under the banner of 'cleansing deep-rooted evils.'" He claimed, "The government established by the candlelight protests is betraying the candlelight movement and threatening democracy."

Earlier, Professor Choi also argued in a paper titled 'Rethinking Korean Democracy' published in the Seoul National University Korean Politics Research Institute’s journal 'Korean Politics Research' that "the phenomenon of so-called 'ppa' (hardcore fans) who passionately follow specific politicians is a political movement characterized by strong cohesion and aggressiveness," and "the organized majority dominates the public sphere, leading to the devastation of the civic public sphere."

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon Photo by Yonhap News

◆ Jin Joong-kwon: "Moon Administration Has Regressed Democracy to Pre-1987 Levels"

Also, Jin Joong-kwon, former Dongyang University professor who criticized the Moon administration daily without fail, raised his voice in an interview with Hankook Ilbo on the 29th of last month, saying, "The Moon administration has failed, and progressivism has collapsed." He pointed out that President Moon and the current government are seriously damaging democracy.

Regarding the reason, Jin said, "(People in the Moon administration) seemed to have a different concept of democracy. When fighting military dictatorship, they thought they were pursuing the same democracy. But the 586 activist generation was never liberal democrats. They are totalitarian. Look even now. They constantly emphasize the 'power of elected authority,' but being elected does not mean they can break laws and procedures and do whatever they want," he emphasized.

On whether the Democratic Party government has regressed democracy, he said, "The Democratic Party under Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun advanced Korean democracy. But the Moon administration has regressed democracy to pre-1987 levels. The activist generation understands democracy solely as 'elected power.' They are stuck at direct democracy against military dictatorship. They think since the president was elected by the people, they can do as they please. How is that different from Chun Doo-hwan? In that sense, the Moon administration has completely failed."

Meanwhile, President Moon chose the theme of this year’s New Year’s address as "Hope Made by the People: Recovery, Inclusion, Leap." On the 11th, President Moon delivered the 2021 New Year’s address at the Blue House main building under this theme.

President Moon said, "When society believes in fairness, we can choose the path of 'living together,' and the courage to rise again after failure can strengthen the power of innovation." Regarding 'fairness,' he mentioned 'reform of power institutions' first, saying, "Reforming power institutions is about achieving checks and balances. It ensures that the rule of law is applied equally and fairly to everyone," and self-praised, "Last year, we finally completed the long-standing legal and institutional reforms."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.